Wednesday, June 11, 2008

A donation to "Hillary Clinton for President" = A Donation to RETIRE THE DEBT

First in a series of clarifications about supporting Senator Clinton and only Senator Clinton. (Please note that all links on this page take you directly to the online spot where you can donate to RETIRE THE DEBT)

I have received a number of questions and comments from people about how to donate to RETIRE THE DEBT. The short answer: by donating to Senator Clinton's primary campaign, which hosts her website.

The single best route for donating is to use Senator Clinton's website. When you donate via the website the funds are processed immediately and nobody at the Clinton headquarters needs to bother opening checks, putting your information into a computer, and so on.(Imagine if you were trying to open the amount of mail that is hitting Senator Clinton's headquarters, and then had to do data entry for much of it!)

I understand that the website does not make it crystal clear - or even clear at all - that donations there go to RETIRE THE DEBT. This is because the website serves, as it always has, multiple purposes. Right now, it appears that the campaign is using one of the main entry pages to highlight Senator Clinton's determination to put a Democrat in the White House even if that Democrat is not her.

Whether you agree with Senator Clinton on this aim or not, her website is still the official online presence for what is in fact a specific financial entity: "Hillary Clinton for President". This title is just like the name of any business or public service organization, no different than "Acme Hardware" or "The Committee for Constitutional Rights".

"Hillary Clinton for President" was set up and remains set up for the business of Senator Clinton's campaign for the presidency of the United States in 2008. Contributions made through that site can, by law, be used ONLY to support Senator Clinton financially for that goal. Although Senator Clinton has not released her delegates and has only suspended her campaign - not withdrawn, not conceded - having said she will support Senator Obama so long as he is the party's presumptive or actual nominee, she cannot in good faith use the website to tout her own candidacy as if she were presently actively campaigning for the presidency.

But, one very important reason Senator Clinton suspended her campaign rather then end it was to make it possible for her to continue to accept contributions from those who support her bid for the presidency in 2008. There are very strict laws and legal regulations about which accounts and funds a politician may use for what purposes. Senator Clinton's campaign takes a particularly law-abiding approach.

(By law, the campaign must ask you before switching amounts over that to the another separate entity, the one that will support Senator Clinton's reelection to the the Senate in 2012. That entity, being separate, cannot pay down the debt of "Hillary Clinton for President". If you go over $2300 accidentally "Hillary Clinton for President" will send you a letter asking if you agree to "redesignate" the overpayment to the fund for Senator Clinton's 2012 Senate race or if you would prefer a refund. This is required by law, and you have every right to request the refund if you intended all funds you donated to Hillary Clinton for President to support Senator Clinton's primary season candidacy for President of the United of the States and not her reelection to the Senate.)

As has always been the case, if you prefer to donate by check you can still do that. Go to the website's donation page, and click the link for information about donating by mail. But if at all possible please donate online: it is the the quickest and easiest way for Senator Clinton to receive your assistance.